Good morning…
“God has shown me that the light within me cannot be extinguished,” wrote our friend Mary as she grieves the loss of her son, “but there are times when it will be faint, and other times when it will burn bright. The Holy Spirit, the light, is always there within! He shows me that there is an abundance of light and love and joy within me that must be shared with others! There are so many that live in the darkness, whose light is faint. I believe we all have this pilot light within, and sometimes we just need someone to come alongside, and help ignite it!”
A pilot light. This image gets my attention. I research the term and this is what I learn. A pilot light is a small permanent flame kept burning continuously to light a larger burner when needed. Gas pilot lights are used when a high energy ignition source is necessary. An electrical pilot light is illuminated to show that electrical power is available, an indictor light signaling “the power is on.”
I witnessed Mary’s pilot light igniting healing flames in the lives of others who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
“Hi Sue. Thank you for posting this,” she wrote from Orlando, Florida. “We are not quite to the one year mark for the loss of our son. (Dec 8) He was 38 and not only left us, but a grieving wife and two little girls. Thanksgiving was rough and the next two weeks are going to be harder. I pray for the lady that allowed you to share this.”
“Sue, thank you for sharing Mary’s post,” a grieving mom from Atlanta, Georgia wrote. “As you know this was my first holiday, Thanksgiving, without my precious son and like Mary I was not looking forward to it. I could not have anything at my house so I went to my daughter’s for dinner; however, driving there I had a major melt down and cried all the way and although my heart was breaking I realized that finally I am just beginning to truly grieve and perhaps realize/accept the permanency of this life-altering loss.”
“At the Thanksgiving table, we each thanked God for blessings,” wrote another subscriber who lives nearby. “I thanked God for the time we had on earth with our son and that He took him gently by the hand when He knew there was no healing at that point and led him home so there was no suffering for him or for us, except this pain of letting go. I keep reminding myself that now my son is no longer in all the pain he suffered so graciously, daily, for many years, and his beautiful blue eyes are again shining. I trust that someday he’ll meet me with those eyes aglow and welcome me into our Heavenly Home.”
“Of all of the holidays, of course, Christmas will be the most difficult,” someone else wrote, “and I’m trying to prepare myself daily for that so continue to pray for me. Yes, I miss my son daily BUT I try to tell myself all the good things about being in the presence of Jesus, the joyful presence my son is now enjoying.”
“What a perfect visual – your blog post igniting Mary’s pilot light so that she can in turn do the same for others,” wrote a subscriber from Jacksonville, Florida. “I think of 2 Chronicles 16:9 – how God is seeking those who are ‘faithfully committed’ to Him so He can strengthen them. I will pray for Mary and hope our prayers lessen her pain.”
The Lord keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him (2 Chronicles 16:9, GNT).
…Sue…
